The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[kenman]

Help me understand "shafting"? What is it that I'm looking for or at?
And Julie, Congrat's! I love the expression on people's faces when they see the dark Welsummer eggs in the cartons.

 

[EweSheep]

Tailfeathers, sometimes saying something nice or dont say it at all would make its exceptions. Judging is one thing you are permitted to do so when one asks for your opinion. It's a chance you have to take when you are telling people about Welsummers and what they are supposed to be.

As for other things like "badmouthing" people without merits or proven sources to back it up, it would be necessary to say nothing at all.

Or it would just add fuel to the fire.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Tailfeathers, thank you for your opinions & I'll get some better pics of both of my Welsummer roos for further evaluation. I have no problem with constructive criticism from those who know more than me. In this case, I want to keep the best of my 2 roos for future breeding. The eggs both hatched from were nice & dark & that was my first criteria, which is why these 2 are still around---now I am down to the final cut for this year & I need opinions from those who know more than I do about this breed.

 

[EweSheep]

Terri, you have come to the right place LOL!

 

[Tailfeathers]

Kenman, the feather shaft is the main stem of the feather than the individual feather barbs come off of.

Robin, I hear ya. I'm just a little uncomfortable about critiquing others birds. I mean who am I? I ain't no judge or anything. I got an eye for what I like and what I breed for but that's about it. Now, if there is a really off the wall DQ or something, that's a different matter. Like the Ameraucanas, I see EEs all the time and politely let folks know they ain't got a true Ameraucana.

Terri, if you only have two cockerels left, my advice would be to keep them both. For one thing you can always take them both to a show and let a judge tell ya why he thinks one is better than the other. The do the same thing with another set of judges and see what happens. For a second thing, it's always good to have a back up. I can tell you from personal experience on that one! It's a long story but I had to put down my Champion Welsummer cockerel this year after he had a stroke which left me without a back up. Fortunately my breeder lives close enough that I was able to get another cockerel I can use until my really young ones grow up and I can tell if they're keepers or not.

God Bless,

 

[JamesA]

My first welsummers are due to hatch Dec. 28th.I am very excited about them .I will post pictures after they hatch.I will most likely have a 100 questions. I am like a kid waiting for Santa but three days late.

 

[Lensters]

I'll second TailFeather on keeping a backup roo. I had 5 RIR roos and I liked one so much that #2 and #3 just didn't compare, so I butchered them even though I knew better. While I was cleaning the last one I walked back into the barn for a new rag and I heard a sneeze. You guessed it, my only remaining roo!

Hopefully one of his offspring will be another like him.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
James, I just talked with you-know-who tonight. He was telling me about the email you sent him. I can't believe how time flies! If you should email him about the hatch, "cc" me on it, will you? Btw, did I send you an email or make a post on the Buckeye thread about the incubator problems I initially had? If not, email me and I'll tell ya about it. Needless to say, I'm anxiously awaiting the next three weeks with baited breath!

Lensters, that emoticon with the wall speaks it all too well. I may not have beaten my head against a wall but the ol' forehead has felt a slap of the palm a time or two!

God Bless,

 

[JamesA]

Quote:
James, I just talked with you-know-who tonight. He was telling me about the email you sent him. I can't believe how time flies! If you should email him about the hatch, "cc" me on it, will you? Btw, did I send you an email or make a post on the Buckeye thread about the incubator problems I initially had? If not, email me and I'll tell ya about it. Needless to say, I'm anxiously awaiting the next three weeks with baited breath!

Lensters, that emoticon with the wall speaks it all too well. I may not have beaten my head against a wall but the ol' forehead has felt a slap of the palm a time or two!

God Bless,

Yes I read about your incubator issues.I think you are like me and never ask for directions or read a owners manual.If things go bad I have no problem sending you more.The next batch I am sending you is going to be from the father of Chris's birds he used in Ohio breed to my hens or back to his daughters.

 

[lauralou]

Feedstorechick,

I have a little cockerel right now who used to have a red chest like yours. As he has grown, the color has changed. He has darker feathers growing in from the sides, and a red stripe down the middle. I'm thinking that he will end up with a black chest. Not mottled, but completely black. I'm withholding judgement, because he's so young. Only 13 weeks old.

Plus, it's hard for me to judge 3 of the 4 cockerels that I have out of that group. Because one is so beautiful he draws my eye immediately! I plan to take a series of pictures of the 4 so I can be more objective about them. As soon as the snow melts, that is.

At any rate, I'd be interested to know if the same thing happens to yours as he matures.



Tailfeathers, thank you for the explanation of the correlation between mottling on the roo's chest and shafting on the hen's body. It's one thing to read that mottling is preferred, but another to understand the why of the thing.